Hey Survivors, we hope everyone is doing well!
Today we’re bringing together several sneak peeks that were previously shared mainly on our Discord server and never made it onto Steam. If you missed them, here’s a full roundup featuring the motel area, new props, clothing updates, a military-style checkpoint, character editor, a glimpse of our UI and zombie facial expressions.
Our team has been testing a variety of facial expressions for different zombie behaviors, including idle wandering, spotting a player, chasing, attacking, and other gameplay situations. The goal is to make every encounter feel more intense and believable.
When a zombie notices you and starts sprinting in your direction, we want its face to immediately communicate aggression and danger. Even in these early stages, we’re very happy with the results and the overall direction of the system.
Next, we’ll continue refining the expressions and combine them with additional animation work such as opening the mouth when spotting a player, snarling, chewing, and reacting differently depending on the zombie’s current state. Once fully implemented, this system will give us much more flexibility to make zombie encounters feel dynamic, disturbing, and immersive across a wide range of situations.
Jonathan has been hard at work creating a brand-new motel and the surrounding environment. The area is being filled with unique details, overgrown vegetation, and an atmosphere that shows nature slowly reclaiming the world.
While it’s still a work in progress, the location is already packed with fantastic touches that help bring the environment to life.
For a closer look at this sneak peek, check out the video here:
Our 3D Prop Team continues to make great progress as we work through the large list of items planned for ARDEM. Many of the props currently in development are more than simple visual details; they are designed with active gameplay functionality in mind.
Lighters will be an essential survival tool.
Bandages will help treat scratches and minor injuries.
Machetes are shaping up to be a strong melee weapon option.
Hatchets will primarily be used for gathering resources.
GPS devices and compasses will help players navigate the world.
The Prop Team is doing an excellent job bringing these items to life step by step, and we’re looking forward to showing many more gameplay-related props in the future.
We also want to share a small update on the progress of our clothing system in ARDEM.
The current screenshots showcase two different directions: a police outfit and a much more worn, dirty, and bloodied appearance. Our aim is to include not only civilian clothing, but also realistic outfits such as police uniforms, paramedic gear, firefighter clothing, and military equipment.
In addition, we are experimenting with dirt and blood effects so that your survivor’s appearance reflects what they have experienced in the world. Staying outside for long periods, getting injured, butchering animals, or looting bodies may cause your character and clothing to become increasingly dirty or bloodied.
We want this to be more than just a visual feature. Hygiene will be part of the survival experience, meaning players will need to wash themselves and clean their clothing to help reduce the risk of illness.
There is still plenty of work ahead, but we’re very excited about the direction of the system and the possibilities it opens up.
Finally, here’s a first look at a military-style checkpoint currently being built by our level designer, Darian. This location is still a work in progress, but we wanted to share an early glimpse of what’s coming to ARDEM.
These checkpoints are being added to strengthen the world’s atmosphere and storytelling while also creating new opportunities for exploration, danger, and player-driven challenges. The first image shows the checkpoint placed on the map and dressed with additional environmental details.
We’ve received word from a lone survivor that the first signs of Ardem’s new UI have been spotted in the wild. We’ve recovered six “field captures” that reveal where we’re headed: a minimalist yet functional interface built for high readability without breaking immersion. These screens offer an early preview of the experience as it continues to evolve.
The screenshots speak quite well for themselves, but we still wanted to share a bit of insight into the direction behind this feature. One of our biggest goals for ARDEM is to give players as much freedom as possible when it comes to their in-game identity.
Your character should feel like your own, and that means giving you the tools to shape them in a way that feels personal and authentic. From the very beginning, we want to support both male and female characters, different body shapes, a variety of ethnicities, and multiple face presets to give players a strong foundation for creating the character they want.
On top of that, we have also implemented a more detailed editing system with around 50 sliders for facial customization, allowing you to adjust smaller features and fine-tune your character even further.
We believe this level of customization can make a big difference in helping players feel connected to their character and more immersed in the world of ARDEM. There is still more work ahead, but we are very happy with the direction so far and excited to share this first glimpse with you.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. We highly recommend joining our Discord for quicker communication, where the developers occasionally drop by for conversations with the community. Many questions have also already been answered in our Q&A channel, which may be worth checking out.
For future sneak peeks and updates, don’t forget to follow our socials. Have a great day, Survivors, and as always… stay safe.